Bigger problems than plastic bags

But we have tougher problems. Neighborhoods where people don’t walk alone. Streets where high schoolers expect gunfights on a weekly basis and – worse – accept it as a part of life.

We don’t hear much from these families, but they’re there, living in fear because they can’t afford the houses in West Seattle, the apartments on Capitol Hill or the condos in Belltown – where voices speak louder and crime is at least a serious conversation.

Robert Jamieson’s column today is a good reminder to keep things in perspective. When personal safety is fleeting, people can’t afford to care about plastic bags.

Residents are waiting for Mayor Greg Nickels or City Council members to make a cameo. That’s what elected officials are supposed to do – show up and be accountable to all of their public, not just big-time condo developers or affluent neighborhoods.

South Seattle deserves a visit – just like Capitol Hill, where public officials rushed, elbowing for media face time, after a madman fatally stabbed Shannon Harps on New Year’s Eve. That response sent a strong message to Capitol Hill: People at the top cared about their safety.

But the mayor’s acquiescence as young people blast the life out of each other either shows he’s too busy with other stuff or just tone-deaf. And I prefer to see the police chief confronting violence at home rather than fielding questions about why his officers are squaring off with Hells Angels in South Dakota.